Hansi Kursch

Hansi Kürsch, born Hans Jürgen Kürsch, is the lead singer, lyricist, co-composer and bassist for German power metal band Blind Guardian . Heavily influenced by Freddie Mercury, he creates a huge choir effect by overdubbing his own voice multiple times in complex, overlapping vocal harmonies. He records each vocal track individually because harmonizers and "perfect pitch" programs don't work with his voice due to distortion and the natural double layer effects his vocal cords have .

His early technique made use of a more aggressive and harsher, "screaming" technique .

He was the bassist for 14 years, from 1984 to 1998, when he decided to focus only on vocals and songwriting because the band material became more complex .

He co-founded two metal bands - Blind Guardian in 1984, and Demons and Wizards in 1998 . Demons and Wizards is a side-project with Jon Schaffer, the guitarist for Iced Earth .